Graduate Opportunities

University attended: University of Western Australia.

Ashara is currently employed as a graduate mechanical engineer at Woodside Energy, one of the world’s largest producers of liquefied natural gas. As an undergraduate she also participated in several volunteer projects, and undertook a number of engineering-based vacation positions, including with Woodside.

What are your responsibilities as a mechanical engineer with Woodside?

Over the last two years, I have been a facility engineer for the Goodwyn platform located in the North West Shelf and the Northern Endeavour oil Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel located in the Timor Sea. I am part of the team responsible for providing technical and engineering support to the Woodside facilities to achieve safe, efficient and optimum operation. I am responsible for managing the integrity of the facility and ensuring that appropriate standards, procedures and specifications are complied with. I investigate technical queries and manage any deviations or modifications to the original design. I also act as an interface between facilities, other Woodside departments and external service providers.

What were the benefits of completing degree-related vacation work as an undergraduate?

I completed summer vacation work experience with a number of companies including Woodside while I was at university. Work experience not only helped me network, but it was also good to get paid to spend my time learning degree-relevant work and to get an early kick start to my career. I believe that doing vacation work exposed me to different possibilities and assisted me in making an informed decision about what company, industry and job role I wanted to apply for when I finished my degree.

How has working at Woodside as a graduate helped the continuity of your professional development?

Woodside is one of the few companies with a structured three-year graduate program which consists of yearly rotations in different parts of the company. This exposes graduates to different parts of the business so that we gain a greater appreciation for the business and assists us in deciding possible career paths to follow. Woodside is also an active supporter of the Engineers Australia Professional Development Program. Workshops, peer support and mentors are promoted by Woodside to assist engineering graduates in attaining chartered status. Each graduate also has a senior technical mentor who helps guide our career and ensure that we are being appropriately challenged and trained.